Advanced Research Skills aims to open up and broaden your methodological thinking. It aims to let students embrace a careful consideration of the advantages of cutting edge but widely differing methods and techniques for tackling a research question, and trains them in writing a multimethod research proposal.

The course runs on two tracks. The first track trains a multitude of high-level cutting-edge research methods, research software and data use, in a practical way. This part of the course will to a large extent be given by different PhD students, basically one PhD for every week. Every week then a PhD student gives a workshop introducing in a hands-on way an interesting research method, a piece of software, a nice dataset etc. Students explore the methods in a practical way. In a final workshop they have to present a review of the merits of one of the learned methods and the PhD students react on their views.

In the second track of the course, the students write a paper which can be seen as a synthesis of all their (20 ECTS) methods courses. They take an issue they are interested in researching. In the paper, of around 1200-1500 words (excluding the 10+ methodological references), they write down three different methods to research the issue and give the reasons for their choice, while also, with some depth, suggesting possible (type of) outcomes. The three methods need not come from the Advanced Research Skills course, they can be any scientific method. Finally, in the paper they reflect on the merits and downsides of the different methods and the benefits of combining methods (including possible ethics issues).

The course offers ReMa students insights in the newest research methods in a hands-on way. The idea is both to stimulate thinking about how to use different methods, about the relative strengths of different methods and about how to apply combinations of methods to answer a research question. It aims to add to the ‘arsenal’ of methods which ReMa students dare to consider when planning and performing research. The general objective of this course is to deepen and extend students’ knowledge of important methodological issues pertaining to research, both on a philosophical and hands-on practical level. The philosophical aspects particularly occur through the multitude of methods discussed: this raises meta-level questions about methods. The hands-on part character is achieved by letting ReMa students experience different researches through (in class) assignments given by PhD students.Compulsory for students of the Master Spatial Sciences. Open to FSS Master level students with serious research interest and some methodological courses finished

This course focuses on models for the description and analysis of demographic and geographic events and relationships, such as linear regression, logistic regression and event history models. Students will obtain substantial knowledge and practical experience concerning statistical models for the analysis of discrete and continuous time processes in life domains such as fertility, employment, migration, and health. As quantitative data often contain a temporal dimension, the required statistical tools receive special attention.Through computer lab sessions and assignments, using empirical survey data from social surveys such as the Demographic and Health Surveys and analyzing them in a statistical software package (STATA), students acquire a working knowledge for the choice, specification, estimation and interpretation of various models. Most examples during the course are related to topics in demographics and economic geography, but methods can be applied to other (social) fields of research.

It is assumed that students are familiar with concepts related to demography and economic geography. Furthermore, students are expected to have basic knowledge of Statistics and Mathematics.

Opmerkingen

Compulsory course unit for students Population Studies and students Economic Geography. Elective course unit for all other MSc. programmes, except for the MSc. Real Estate Studies.Maximum number of students is 50.

City Matters: Social Justice and Urban Inequality confronts you with the moral dimension of spatial planning. Too often, planners seek the most effective and efficient planning strategy to reach a pre-defined desired future, without questioning who has the power to define what is desired, and for whom this is desirable.

The urgent societal issues of our times urge urban planners to rethink the foundational principles of planning. We witness the beginning of the urban era, now a majority of the world population lives in cities. The rise of (mega) cities is celebrated as their emergence increases production and economic growth. However, due to the liberalization of the world economy and the restructuring of (European) welfare states, the economic situation of large social groups in the global North and the global South has become precarious. As a result, European cities are in constant transformation. Cities that are well connected in the (world) city network become increasingly unaffordable places to live in for those with moderate incomes. On different spatial scales, we observe an increase of socio-spatial polarization. As socio-economic and ethnic segregation is on the rise, fears for the emergence of a social group that is excluded from mainstream society, economy and civic life, are growing. Altogether, these developments confront the planner with issues of justice. This course enables you to build your own framework to develop ‘just’ planning interventions.

In City Matters: Social Justice and Urban Inequality, four main questions will be discussed:1. How much (in)equality is fair? In the course, the most important theoretical views on justice (utilitarianism, egalitarianism, sufficientarianism, prioritarianism) are discussed. Furthermore, we discuss the arguments why a given level of inequality is fair according to these theories.2. Which inequalities are relevant for planners? Is the spatial concentration of poverty under all conditions a planning issue? This question (re)defines the scope for spatial interventions. To answer this question, several theories of spatial justice (David Harvey, Henry Lefebvre, Edward Soja and Peter Marcuse) are discussed.3. Which mechanisms have generated the contemporary societal problems, such as segregation, urban marginality, and transport poverty? How are planners involved in generating inequalities? We review these mechanisms through the lens of critical urban theory, not considering them as ‘blind’ or ‘neutral’ processes, but as expressions of a power imbalances between interest groups with different ideologies and agendas. 4. How can urban planners contribute to more ‘just’ cities? Challenges that planners and politicians face while trying to create affordable housing and inclusive communities will be discussed. Furthermore, we take a look at successful practices of ‘commoning’, whereby people take control of their own community and resources.

This course consists of eight lectures, seven seminars and an excursion to Belgrade (Serbia) were we visit an urban (re)development project that can be contested and supported from different perspectives on spatial justice.

The maximum number of students is 35. The course is open for Master students from Spatial Sciences and related disciplines. Priority will be given to students from the Master program of Socio-Spatial Planning.

The overall aim of this course is to compare multiple spatial planning cases within and across countries – thus identifying the similarities and differences between planning systems, practices, and contexts within and across countries – to draw lessons from such comparisons, and to critically discuss the opportunities and limitations of cross-border learning using insights and arguments from the policy transfer, translation, and policy-mobilities literatures.

The course predominantly discusses spatial planning in the European context focusing on three domains of interest for spatial planning: water management, renewable energy, and infrastructure/transportation planning. A secondary overall aim of the course is to provide students with methodological tools to conduct (international) comparative research. The course focusses on the case study, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), and policy transfer and translation.

Comparative research allows students to better understand spatial planning systems, practices, and contexts in their country of origin; to determine – given extant national contexts – the opportunities and challenges for drawing lessons or transferring/translating policies from one spatial planning system or practice to another; and to critique different systems and practices, as well critically discuss possibilities for improving them.

Spatial planning systems and practices are often highly diverse in different countries. Planning systems and practices are namely strongly embedded in their socio-spatial contexts: different physical circumstances, institutional designs, and planning cultures have developed historically and give rise to different spatial planning systems and practices. National (planning) cultures can be supportive or unsupportive of a planned intervention. The institutional context of spatial planning is closely related to national judicial traditions and the constitutional make-up of the state. As a result, planning systems and practices for influencing spatial development are contingent upon their specific national contexts. In this course, the students will develop an understanding of spatial planning systems and practices in their socio-spatial contexts.

The comparison of spatial planning systems and practices from different countries, and drawing lessons from the comparison, is central to this course. The case study methodology and ‘Qualitative Comparative Analysis’ (QCA) are research methods that are introduced, applied, and that structure the course. The course features three types of lectures.1. In order to set the scene and to explain the socio-spatial context of a particular planning system, one individual country is normally at the focus of each so-called case lecture. Within the context of each country, key institutions, power relations, limitations, and strengths of the planning system are explored. This is done through an examination of particular tools, techniques, and practices that operate within. Each case lecture is connected to one of three spatial planning domains: renewable energy, water/coastal management, or infrastructure/transportation planning. 2. In the methods lectures, an introduction is given into case study methodology, QCA, and policy transfer and translation as useful methods and theories to analyze, understand, and draw inspiration from different national planning systems and practices. 3. In the seminars, the students work under the guidance of the course lecturers on their group assignment. The group assignment (a research report) and a digital written exam will form the basis for the final grade of the course. The seminars focus on the application of the case study and QCA methods. The assignment focusses on doing case study and comparative research and on drawing lessons from one national context (the donor country) to another (the recipient country), whilst being sensitive and critical towards cross-country differences, opportunities, and limitations involved.

Overpopulation. Already by the end of the 18th century, Thomas Robert Malthus warned the world that population growth would outstrip resources. In the 1970s, The Club of Rome provided this same message again in its famous essay ‘The Limits to Growth’. Although technological innovations and improvements in education and health have challenged these doom scenarios, global population growth and related implications for development, such as climate change and food security, remain highly debated. This global concern is also reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals. But is it really population growth we should be concerned with? Or is it more a matter of population structure, resource distribution, consumption levels or population wellbeing?

This course focuses on the issues of population growth, climate change, and food security. We will discuss various mechanisms underlying these contemporary population issues from a macro-level perspective. Students will become aware of the science-policy interface as they discuss the issues from the perspectives of various stakeholders and develop a policy brief for a particular country. At the end of the course, the students will represent their country in a United Nations simulation game addressing this contemporary population issue.

The aim of the course is to develop students’ understanding of global contemporary population issues, and how population policies are developed and implemented to address these issues. The course consists of lectures, group work and guest lectures given by experts working on population-related issues in academia, policy and practice.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will have an understanding of contemporary population issues (population growth, climate change and food security) as well as how these issues can be addressed in policies. They are also aware of forms of research communication that tend to be effective for knowledge exchange and evidence-based policy.

This course focuses on network and governance dilemmas that arise in the planning and realization of different kinds of infrastructure networks. In three thematic blocks three waterway, energy and road infrastructure networks will be covered. In total, the course consists of four thematic blocks, as the first block focuses on the general debates on network and governance theory and translates these debates into two main perspectives – a network perspective and a governance perspective. Each of the three thematic blocks will be discussed on the basis of both perspectives. The end of each block is marked by a formative exam. At the end of the thematic blocks there are also mandatory excursions with assignments. Costs may have to be made for these excursions.

Why are some countries poor and some countries rich? This course will introduce you to the debate about strategies for sustained growth and development in today's world. Global economic growth has been rapid since the 1950s, but uneven across countries and major challenges to growth have appeared in the last decade. What were successful growth strategies in the past? Which policies have contributed to this success? What are the new growth challenges ahead at the regional and global level and how can we cope with these? Based on the explanatory growth framework of Angus Maddison we delve into the possibilities of generating development. We discuss new global trends that provide both opportunities and challenges for growth and development, and end the course with an evaluation of possible policy options against this background. This will be done by in-depth study and discussion of major articles in this field.

This module has two main aims. First, the course explores the current frontiers of the academic debate in Economic Geography. Second, it explicitly translates the theoretical and empirical insights in Economic Geography to the daily practice of local and region economic development as practiced by policy makers and private consultants alike.

The course is set against the backdrop of ongoing economic globalization and its implications for local and regional economic development. The course will examine analytical concepts and theories, as well as empirical approaches to investigating economic geography. In this context, the course will introduce important current themes in economic geography, both from an academic point of view and from a societal stance. These current themes include the importance of Human Capital for innovation and development, Well-being and Happiness as alternative measures of development, and Territorial and Social inequality. Students will examine these issues in the context of The Netherlands, the European Union, and in terms of newly emerging and developing countries.

The course explicitly asks how empirical and theoretical insights translate to the practice of local and regional development. For this, we will discuss pertinent policy options and tools, including city branding, business incentives and housing policies. Understanding the international practice of regional government is relevant in this as well, not in the least in preparation for a job in local development. Throughout the course we will pay attention to the practice of economic geography. This is most explicit in the two-day field trip to Brussels, where we will visit several organizations that are linked to the European Commission.

The geo-economic map of the world changes constantly. Globalization has led to a rapid increase of these changes in the location decisions of firms. This course aims to provide students with a better understanding of the resulting changes in the geo-economic patterns of the uneven distribution of economic activity over space and the underlying strategic decision of firms to re-locate in (or offshore to) knowledge intensive clusters of economic activity. We discuss key theories and empirical evidence to understand these changes and, subsequently, discuss the firm level drivers of these changes.

We see the emergence of citizens and entrepreneurs who collectively take the lead in spatial transformation in the c0ntext of place-based development. Examples are initiatives in revitalizing of public space, self-governance in energy production, food, health-care or landscape maintenance, or fostering social cohesion in neighborhoods and other meaningful everyday places. The course:1) provides insight in theoretical concepts such as sustainability, transition and transformation2) analyzes the engagement of society in spaces of interaction and the changing role of spatial planning, resulting in new coalitions and institutional arrangements. 3) pays specific attention to the (inter)subjective aspects of planning.

In the course we focus on types of entrepreneurship and the effects of entrepreneurship on regional growth but also on regional patterns of entrepreneurship and whether or not specific environments can be more beneficial for entrepreneurship or not. Hence we learn in what ways entrepreneurship is beneficial for regional development and the possibilities for policy makers to use entrepreneurship as a policy instrument.

Value and value creation are central concepts of Corporate Finance. The value of an asset depends on the size, the timing and the risk of the expected cash flows generated by an asset. In this course, you will learn how to determine the value of any asset. You will apply these techniques to value financial securities and investment opportunities of companies.The course Finance for Real Estate provides the fundamentals to assess the financial attractiveness of real estate projects.

Students will acquire a thorough understanding of the relationships between transport mobility (i.e., the demand for travel), the development of infrastructure (supply side) and the wider economic development of places and regions. They will be able to apply this understanding to specific examples of transport infrastructure development. They will be able to point out the pros and cons of infrastructure projects on the basis of the travel demand and the expected spatial structuring effects and economic effects, as well as relate these to the relevant government policy to be carried out.The course is based on the continuous demand for new or improved transport infrastructure projects, in the Netherlands and in other countries, and the (public) discussion between advocates and opponents of specific infrastructure projects. A number of lectures will set out the main themes within transport and economic geography concerning: ‘need and urgence’ of infrastructure development, stakeholder involvement, and, spatial and (regional) economic impacts of infrastructure projects. A mid-term written exam will be based on obligatory literature underlying the lectures and on information provided during the lectures.At the beginning of the course groups will be formed and example projects will be chosen. They will concern recently completed new or improved transport infrastructure projects (e.g., railroad, road or airports). Students will prepare presentations and write a report on these projects in groups. They will individually prepare written critical or provocative statements related to the chosen projects, but generated from the body of scientific knowledge, which will then be debated. Presentations, reports and statements will try to explicitly link theoretical knowledge of the relationship between transport mobility, infrastructure development, economics and space to social considerations concerning costs, benefits and feasibility.The course ends with a presentation of the group project in 'workshops'.

The real estate markets have become more integrated worldwide than ever before. Today, foreign investors, (real estate) service providers, manufactures, and developers play an important role in the demand and supply of space in domestic markets, and vice versa. In the meantime, significant economic, institutional, cultural differences exist among various markets which highlight opportunities as well as challenges in the process of globalization of real estate markets. In this course, we aim to provide a comprehensive analysis on the functioning and formation of international real estate markets. Specifically, we will analyze the international real estate markets from three aspects. First, user demand for real estate will be examined. The extent to which real estate demand is driven by users consuming the space is affected by the globalization of multinational corporations and by the trade patterns between major trading partners. We will elaborate on the classic trade theories and theories on multinational firms in order to understand the demand from real estate users. Second, we will investigate the real estate from the perspective of investors. Why investors favor real estate than other asset classes, for instance, bond and stocks? To answer this question, we will go through finance and investment theories and apply them to real estate assets with the focus of risk-return trade-off and potential diversification benefits from gaining exposure to real estate. Third, institutional settings within which international real estate markets operate are also key to the understanding of the functioning of international real estate markets. It contributes to our understanding why certain markets are more attractive to users/investors than others. In addition, it helps us to promote the development of market structures and institutions in new markets.

Examination with open questions digital, Group assignments, Individual assignments

ECTS

5

Entreevoorwaarden

Students are assumed to possess basic understanding of international economics and finance, and the capabilities to conduct quantitative analysis. Specifically, students should know first order derivative and its related computations. If you do not meet this prerequisite, you may read Chapter 6 and 7 of the book “Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis” (Edition 2002) by Knut Sydsaeter and Peter Hammond (Prentice-Hall).

Students should have followed the course of Real Estate Finance (1A) to build up the required prior knowledge on finance to follow this course. Otherwise, the book “Corporate Finance” by Berk and DeMarzo (Pearson) is highly recommended.

The life table technique - in its original application – is used to describe the mortality pattern of a population, and results in the life expectancy. The technique can be generalized and applied to many research topics, such as population health, multi-regional dynamics, labour market demography, etc. Survival analysis consists in applying the life table technique to individual-level data on life events, which can answer a wide range of questions on the occurrence, timing and likelihood of these events (e.g. marriage, childbearing, migration, labour market, disease career). Clear links with causal modelling exist.Population projections estimate future population size and structure. Key to population projections is the cohort component method which involves (a) the formulation of assumptions for each of the components, i.e. fertility, mortality and migration, and (b) the implementation of these assumptions using the Leslie model which implies a matrix formulation. In this course, first the life table technique will be taught, followed by the population projection methodology, and subsequently survival analysis.

Students analyse sustainability challenges of a real life case in order to formulate a provocative yet viable, credible and well-documented policy advice, inspired by a central theme. The advice shows how to transform a location under investigation into a more sustainable place. Sustainability is understood from an integral perspective (people, planet, profit). Place is considered from a relational perspective, as the outcome of all sorts of structuring (political-economic, ecological, social-cultural) processes that stretch beyond geographical boundaries. The students concentrate on a case located near Groningen city. Socio-spatial data, policy documents, fieldwork days and interaction with the actual stakeholders feed into the analysis. During the case analysis a variety of inspiration sessions equip students with key tools and concepts. The theoretical insights that this course provides during this process, as well as those taught in previous courses, are deployed by the students to come to a proper understanding of a case. The policy advice presents the case with an appealing and authentic vision on its future. The assessment takes place on the basis of the quality of the analysis, the advice, the group process and the individual reflection.

Limited elective for EIP and compulsory for all SSP studentsOpen for SSP/EIP and other Master’s students (e.g. landscape history, cultural geography) and MINERVA students. The remaining positions after the enrolment of SSP/EIP students will be distributed to students from other Masters on the basis of first-come-first-serve.Maximum number of students is 24.The course requires an active participatory attitude from the students.

Students do an internship at an international or Dutch organisation where they are involved in projects and tasks related to their study programme and level of education. The internship provides students the possibility to develop more practical experience and skills in the field of study, to gain more insight into personal strengths, ambitions and points of development, and to enhance their professional orientation. At the end of the internship, students can present their findings in different ways. Also, they reflect on their experiences and the extent to which they have achieved their personal learning goals.

Internships will provide you with the opportunity to gain relevant work experience outside a university setting. This means that the placement will not only provide you with a unique personal learning experience, but it will also contribute to the development of your professional and academic career. It is worth noting that due to the breadth and the interdisciplinary character of your programme, you are relatively free to choose the placement of your choice. These placements could include a profit or non-profit setting, public or private, a large international organisation or a small non-governmental organisation (NGO). For example, some students choose to do a placement in a large international organisation such as the EU or UN, whilst others others like to work for a municipality or for an NGO. It is important to note that you, the student, are expected to actively and independently search for a placement. The searching process and application process are important parts of the learning process as well as dealing with problems during the internship.

It is important to discuss your interest in a Master Internship, in your curriculum or extracurricular, with the coordinator of your programme. Also it is important to attend the information meeting about Master Internship in the period previous to the internship (see the online class schedule) or contact Chris Diederiks. Only proactive students will be able to finish this course because there is little facilitation from the faculty. Students need to find their own organisation where they want to do an internship and should have clear ideas about what tasks they will do for the organisation.

We encourage you to finish the Internship in one period (1a, 1b, 2a or 2b).

FSS Careers Services can help students in their preparation for the working field. Possible internships are published in Career ConNEXT.

During the internship a representative from the faculty, preferably from the programme, will contact the organisation and discuss the progress with the student and a mentor from the organisation. This contact can take place by phone, email or a visit.

All three parties (organisation, faculty, student) have to sign the UG Placement Agreement that can be found on the Nestor course before the start of the internship.

It is also possible to do research for an organisation in combination with the master’s thesis. In that case you will need to write an additional product to successfully pass the course Master Internship.

The individual Master’s thesis concludes the Master programme in Economic Geography. It entails an individual research project developed and executed by the student under the guidance of one of the researchers at the faculty.Students are free to choose a topic, provided it is relevant to the field of economic geography. Preferably, topics relate to the research agenda of the faculty (tWIST) and Economic Geography in particular. This means that topics in the broad fields of regional labour markets and firm dynamics, including entrepreneurship, are highly encouraged.The course is a combination of a fixed set of group meetings and individual progress meetings with your supervisor. The course can be started in 1b and 2b. Please refer to the Nestor-page for exact dates and additional information, for example regarding possible research topics.

This course encompasses the three main types of residential relocations: residential mobility, internal and international migration, in relation to family and household dynamics. A life course perspective is used to determine how migration of individuals (at the micro level) is shaped by events in individual lives, such as leaving the parental home, marriage, divorce, child birth and retirement. It also examines how life events of significant others such spouses, children and parents shape migration decisions of the individual. The course contextualizes the manner in which the decision to migrate is influenced by the family and the household (at the meso level) and the housing and labour markets as well as welfare regimes (at the macro level). The course takes a critical view on the inequalities people experience either on migration or due to migration both within and outside family and household settings.

Students must have completed the following study components in order to be admitted to the course unit: Bachelor programme from the Faculty of Spatial Sciences or other social-scientific Bachelor programme. Enrolment in a Master programme of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences also gives the right to enter the course.

Natural, heritage and landscape values of the rural and urban environment are studied to understand the different appreciations and valuations of places and areas in society. During lectures, attention will be paid to the birth and evolution of the idea of the preservation of the past and its paradigmatic transformation into heritage, with a specific focus on cultural, natural and geoheritage. The main contemporary issues and controversies surrounding heritage and identifications in pluralistic societies will also be addressed, including practical examples during (guest) lectures. Theoretical approaches of ecology, biodiversity and the landscape biography method will be introduced. To fully understand the complexity of the variety in landscape perceptions, knowledge on historical landscape development will be provided during lectures, (self-guided) excursions and presentations. The academic theories on nature values, heritage and landscape perception will be compared with the professional practice by several company visits. By analysing a self-chosen landscape a landscape biography will be written in which historical and current relationships between biotic, abiotic and human factors (including perceptions) of (natural) landscapes will be connected.

With increasingly globalizing societies, culture and identity processes have undergone remarkable changes. In the last couple of decades, regional specificities such as culture and identity have become important tools to (i) internally create social cohesion in an increasingly individualistic and networked society; (ii) lead to socio-economic development by attracting external investments and people in a globally competitive market place that, paradoxically, has been noted to homogenize culture and connect individual identities on a global level. This course considers some of the key overarching concepts and ideas in cultural geography, especially as they pertain to this role of culture and identity in places and regions in a globalizing society. It is general in its focus (i.e. no specific location implied) but highlights concrete trends and processes likely to be active in specific places through both conceptual and empirical discussions.

Complexity and uncertainties are intrinsically part of spatial design problems. By applying planning support and evaluation methods, planners try to deal with these uncertainties and, often, reduce complexity. Worldwide, a wide-ranging assortment of planning methods is applied in policy-design practice. Some generic functions of these methods include complex problem structuring (‘problems first’), generating and defining scenarios, analysing and visualizing impacts, and selecting and comparing alternative solutions for these problems. The format of the methods and the way their performance is perceived strongly depends on underlying theoretical views on policy design. (e.g., goal-oriented, interactive, institutional).

This course provides students with knowledge about the smart use of planning methods in governance from different theoretical perspectives. The meaning of ‘smart’ relates to (1) high performance of methods in governance, (2) the use of innovative methods and (3) increase in available open data and crowdsourced data.

More in detail, the conditions for successful application of methods based on problem structuring, scenario development and GIS-based Multi Criteria Analysis will be discussed. Students reflect on the value, use and performance of these methods in policy design.

Part of the course is a group assignment on a self-chosen spatial design question. The aim of this assignment is to write a spatial policy advice. This will be based on the findings produced by using and integrating several planning methods related to problem solving, scenario development and GIS-based MCA. The students will complete a portfolio that – stepwise – builds up to the final policy advice. Critical reflection on the contribution of planning methods in smart governance will be part of the assignment.

Students are expected to complete a written exam, to actively participate in the tutorials and to complete the group assignment.

Students have to bring their own notebooks along to the tutorials with ArcGIS installed. If you are facing any problems, please inform us timely. EIP and SSP students will be pre-enrolled for this course. They have priority. Maximum number of students is 50.

This course starts with current and on-going planning theoretical discussions, seen in the light of philosophical critique and general scientific abstractions. These abstractions are amongst others obtained from theories such as systems theory, complexity theory, critical theory, social constructivism and discourse theory. This confrontation will bring us the basic arguments upon which planning is built. It will help us understand and critically reflect on current decision-making models, such as the classic technical rational approaches, contingency approaches, scenario approaches, the late modern communicative approaches in planning, the so-called models for complex decision-making and transition management. This will give us substantial depth in understanding how planning and decision-making works. As such, we want to support decision-making processes in planning through object-oriented and inter-subjective analysis in complex and very complex situations. The result is an advanced tool box to cope with simple, complex and very complex planning issues, both linear and non-linear, to tackle these issues in a thorough way, and to help us to make use of and design planning and decision-making models for particular situations.

Health and demographic processes influence each other throughout the life course, and are shaped by the geographical and socioeconomic context. This module is about the dual link between demography, health, and place or geography. In the course, we adopt a population and an individual level perspective, as well as a global and a local perspective. At the population (macro) level, we examine demographic developments and compare differences in health outcomes across the globe. We will investigate determinants and patterns of health inequalities. At the individual (micro) level, we will unravel the interlinkages between health and the life course in different contexts. We look, for example, at how ageing and health are perceived in different cultural and societal contexts. A central aim of this course is the introduction of theories and approaches that help us understand how health outcomes are shaped at the individual and the population level and how these are interlinked. The theories will build up to a framework to understand the different facets of population health. They also provide a link between case studies presented by various guest lecturers.

This Master course is open - as an optional course - for Master students from the Faculty of Spatial Sciences and from disciplines related to Population Studies within the University of Groningen (e.g. Sociology, Epidemiology, Psychology, Spatial Sciences, Public Health, Medical Sciences, Cultural Anthropology, International Relationships, Gerontology, and Development Studies).

This course focuses on the different management strategies that are used in planning practice. We use a framework which distinguishes both between output and outcome-oriented management strategies as well as between internal and external orientation. Output can be seen as specific products that are produced: for example the number of highway miles built and repaired. Outcomes are the difference made by the output: better traffic flow, shorter travel times, and fewer accidents. An internal orientation is reflected in management strategies that are defensive towards their context, while this is the other way around with an external orientation. On the basis of this framework we discuss four management strategies: project, process, multi-project and programme management. Each of the management strategies is not only discussed in theory, but also planning practitioners are invited to reflect on how these strategies work in practice. An assignment is also part of the course. In the assignment, students are required to read a business novel – which might need to be purchased – and reflect in groups on the management strategies that can be found in these books. In this way, students are both trained to understand the theoretical principals of the different approaches, as well as gain an understanding how these strategies work in practice and what are important elements to take into account.

The course has a maximum of 40 students. Since the IPD courses are developed for the Environmental and Infrastructure Planning and Socio-spatial planning programme these students have priority when enrolling for the course. If there is still room after all interested students have enrolled, entry will happen in chronological order: first come, first served.

The purpose of this course is to introduce Master students to qualitative research in geography and tourism studies, and to prepare them in the skills, techniques, and knowledge necessary to undertake independent research using this methodology.

The course is organized around (most of) the contents of the handbook ‘Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography’ (edited by Iain Hay, 4th edition). In addition to theory about qualitative research methods, students will practice qualitative research in a small group project.

The first half of the term will cover issues related to qualitative research design and practice. It addresses issues of power, ethics, rigour and culture, as well as the methods interviewing and observation, and participatory research approaches. Students will be presented with a variety of research examples from active researchers in the faculty of Spatial Sciences, and they will discuss these in class. This part of the term will be concluded with an in-class exam based on the readings and research presentations.

The second part of the term is dedicated to a student research project, and will address methods of data analysis. We also discuss writing up qualitative research and communicating this to wider audiences. This part of the term is concluded with a company visit and student presentations based on the research conducted during the course.

The relation between real estate and land is intricate. The square meter price of land in a metropolitan city centre like New York may be many times the price of those of peripheral cities, while the real estate construction costs may be the same in both places. Furthermore, public squares and city parks seem to have no economic value, but may build major attractiveness to the real estate around it. Finally, sustainable development seems to require more green cities, but a more dense city seems to be better for energy use and mobility. How to understand the value of land in relation to real estate, that is central to this course.

The course Real Estate and Land Supply is designed first to develop students’ scientific analytical thinking about the sustainable value of real estate and land developments, and second to improve their skills in measuring and analyzing these value changes. Both aims are strongly connected, although from an educational perspective they take somewhat different angles.

As to the first aim, if we think about real estate and land, how to understand the value of land and of the value of real estate in connection to land? How do economic processes shape configurations of real estate and land? And are these, or should these be, the result of an economic market outcome only? Which (other) values are at stake? Short-term and long- term, private and public? How can land policy balance economic interests in land and economic pressures on land use with broader social, cultural and ecological concerns; i.e. sustainability concerns? Which fundamental processes are at work ‘behind’ many individual real estate and land developments everywhere? The first aim is to develop and sharpen our thinking about these fundamental processes and balancing of values.

As to the second aim, it is essential to develop expertise as to the actual calculations of value of real estate and land in complex real world settings; calculations that try to incorporate the theoretical analytical background and the associated broad-values thinking scientific attitude. To reach the second aim, we set out to measure and calculate sustainable value changes of real estate and land developments using a mix of evaluation methods Cost-Benefit Analysis and Multi-Criteria Analysis and in combination with spatial GIS analysis. We learn how to integrate the measurement of economic, social, cultural and ecological values, which are affected and changed by different real estate and land developments. We focus on calculating costs and benefits and using GIS tools and different databases to value different value aspects. We learn to value changes that take place at different spatial levels as we move from project level to local, regional, national and international levels, from micro to macro.

Planning and evaluation are key concepts in Real estate Development (RED). This course covers concepts & principles in real estate discussing its actors, development process and real estate submarkets. The course consists of Lectures and a RED Development Case. During the course students must write a RED investment proposal incorporating different applications from RED planning & economics.

As a popular asset class, real estate has attracted attention from both the individual and institutional investors who aim to achieve portfolio diversification, better asset liability management and inflation protection. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the risk and return characteristics associated with investing in both residential and commercial real estate. This course will focus on investments in commercial and non-commercial properties, and mortgages. Specifically, we will start with property investment analysis by introducing various property valuation models and risk-return analysis. Within residential real estate investment, we will focus on the determinants of investment potential of single family housing and how to formulate sound investment analysis of potential target properties which consists of analysis of fundamentals and the establishment of market valuation. With respect to commercial real estate investment, we will first introduce the basic knowledge of rent, lease, and market forces that affect the observed rents. Next, we will concentrate on the various valuation methods of commercial real estate, i.e. sales comparable approach and income approach. Finally, we will establish investment analysis of potential target properties in terms of their associated risk and return. In the second part of the course, we will get acquainted with various mortgage products, i.e. fixed rate and variable rate mortgages and their respective risk and return characteristics from lender’s perspective.

Students are required to have followed the real estate finance course in 1A to build up the basic knowledge in finance. Otherwise, the book “Corporate Finance” by Berk and DeMarzo (Pearson) is highly recommended.

The labour market is by definition a regional market because of the limitation of the daily commuting distance. In the Regional Labour Market Analysis module, first of all the general notions of the functioning of the labour market will be explained in terms of individual labour labour market decions leading to aggregate supply and demand, investment in education, family policies and retirement decisions. Attention will also be paid to regional differences in the functioning of the labour market with regard to unemployment, employment, wages, labour market participation, labour productivity, education, etc. There will also be a focus on spatial interactions between and within regional labour markets through migration and commuting, as well as the possibilities and limitations of regional labour market policy.

This course is for Master students FSS and for students from other faculties who want to know more about economic aspects of human labour and the function of the labour market.Not accessible for students who followed the course Labour Economics of FEB.

The course discusses recent changes in the field of environmental planning related to the emergence of sustainable development as a prime governance guideline. The course explains how sustainable development challenges the reliance on reactive and regulatory based policies that have long been common in environmental planning in many countries. Sustainable development is presented as a call for more proactive policies that integrate environmental concerns in overall governance activities. These calls for governance renewal are connected to wider shifts in both planning theory and practice, away from command and control policies towards a richer variety of policy approaches, inspired by for example market processes, public and private partnerships, communicative rationality and multi-level governance. While discussing recent changes in environmental planning, students are invited and stimulated to develop a critical and constructive attitude, while drawing on a ‘post-contingency’ perspective for identifying various theoretical arguments and doubts regarding these changes. Students will subsequently be shown examples of changes in environmental planning, related to five dominant environmental issues: urban development, nature and biodiversity, climate change, air pollution and energy. Students will be invited during a written exam to critically discuss and reflect on recent changes in environmental planning. Finally, through assignments, students need to show their ability to make theoretically supported and well-argued choices between different planning strategies and measures when faced with different issues and circumstances.

The city is constantly in transition. This is to say that demands, tensions and opportunities are continuously changing, which lead to new societal challenges for policy makers. In the Revitalizing Neighbourhoods course, youexplore the ‘state of the art’ of these societal challenges in neighbourhoods and reflect on urban renewal policies.

You are invited to follow the course if you are interested in the motives and changes underlying urban evitalization. We analyse how these policies affect the people living in these specific neighbourhoods. In general, the following topics will be examined:• Which policy interventions are suitable to contribute to the revitalization of neighbourhoods• How private, public and civic actors relate to one another in designing, implementing and evaluating policy interventions• How conditions of a flourishing neighbourhood change over time and its influence on policy interventions• How terms as ‘liveability’, ‘well-being’, ‘resilience’, ‘social cohesion’ and ‘gentrification’ are applied to understand, examine (analyticalperspective) and influence (normative perspective) changes within neighbourhoods

Similar to cities, perspectives on the revitalization of neighbourhoods are dynamic. We will position changes in urban renewal policies within time and explore new trends. Furthermore, Dutch planning practice will be examinedin relation to other countries.

Next tot lectures and a workshop, an group assignment on age-friendly neighbourhoods will be part of the course. You will assess the agefriendliness of an indicated neighbourhood and identify possible interventions and strategies for improvement. You are asked to independently report on your findings in a written policy advice.

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is the process of managing the social issues of projects and policies. This course enables students to understand the significance, possibilities and pitfalls relating to the use of SIA with interventions that have spatial consequences. Upon completion of the course, students will be capable of applying their knowledge of the theory of SIA to practical project strategies and to improved spatial policies. With SIA being more than a technique, and being a philosophy about development and democracy, students will have increased their awareness of the social impacts of spatial interventions.

SIA includes the processes of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions. Its primary purpose is to bring about a more sustainable and equitable bio-physical and human environment” (Vanclay 2003). SIA works with regulatory agencies to contribute to decision-making and approval processes; SIA works with the proponent of a development plan to improve projects through project (re)design, site selection, and design and implementation of mitigation measures and monitoring programs; and SIA works with the community to assist them in coping with change and planning for positive futures.

This course deals with spatial analysis within Geographic Information Systems. Theory and literature will be explained in lectures, whereas the students learn to apply various spatial analysis techniques with practical exercises. Both theory and practice are assessed in a case study research, which is preferably related to the master thesis research of the student. The student needs to have basic GIS knowledge and skills when starting the course (see prerequisites).

Basic level of GIS knowledge and skills are required. The student has to proof his/her level of GIS knowledge and skills by sending course outline(s) and evidence that the course(s) is successfully completed to Gerd Weitkamp (s.g.weitkamp@rug.nl). Reference to required level of knowledge and skills is the bachelor course GEGIS (see ocasys). Experience working with ArcGIS software is desired, but not obligatory.

Opmerkingen

This course has a limit of 32 students. During the registration period, Master’s students will be preliminary be admitted on the basis of first come, first served. ONLY when prerequisites are approved, the student will definitely be admitted.

The course starts by examining the spatial behaviour of individual firms from a theoretical perspective. The analysis is then extended to groups of firms and phenomena such as industrial clustering and agglomeration are explored both theoretically and empirically. This provides the rationale for analysing the economy of a city, its economic, social and industrial structure, and the behaviour of the various real estate markets operating within the city. We extend the argument to examine the multiplier linkages which operate between different sectors within cities and regions, and then integrate the role which labour migration and employment search processes play in the economic adjustment processes of cities and regions. The factor allocation mechanisms across space are then explored as one of the key drivers of economic growth, and we distinguish these adjustment and allocation processes from pure knowledge spillover arguments and from monetary transmission mechanisms. The implications of these various structures, systems and adjustment processes are then extended to urban and regional policy debates.

The 28 hours of lectures will be complemented with 4 hours of computer classes. These computer classes will introduce students to Geographical Information Systems and spatial modelling techniques and to how they can be used to examine and evaluate a range of spatial economic phenomena.

What role does culture play in tourism? This research seminar builds on tourism geography and sociology, exploring tourist expectations, motivations and experiences of place through the lens of cultural tourism. We discuss recently published research on specific, concrete cases involving for example ethnic tourism, dark tourism and media tourism. Students will explore the theories and concepts offered through their own qualitative research project, reflecting on what tourism experience means in socio-cultural practice.

The tourism sector often functions as a policy tool to achieve regional development outcomes. From this perspective, tourism development is seen to lead to regional synergy effects, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative benefits for destinations. However, practically analysing and achieving these regional development impacts is often problematic because of the uneven dispersal of impacts in space, among stakeholders, and between economic, ecological and socio-cultural spheres.

This course examines the role of tourism in regional development questions in the transnational Wadden Sea region. Combining general insights in the development issues and tourism potential of the Wadden Sea area with applied knowledge on regional economic policy, cross-border governance, and sense of place, this course allows students to tackle the topic of tourism and regional development from a multifaceted, holistic and region-oriented perspective. Students will also become familiar with several measurement approaches and techniques to practically evaluate the role of tourism in regional economic and community development. The course will employ a problem-based learning approach, which promotes and enhances the students’ analytical kills, problem solving skills and team working skills.

The course Tourism Planning & Practice focuses on the tourism planning and policymaking of destinations, and the critical reflection thereof based on insights from tourism practice. The course addresses:1) the fundaments of tourism planning by discussing key approaches and instruments (e.g. strategic planning, strategic foresight, scenario planning)2) a first-hand experience with policy-making (in conjunction with the European Tourism Futures Institute – www.etfi.eu) 3) the critical refection of key concepts and their applications to practice (e.g. transition, adaptive capacity, resilience) based on insights from tourism practice.

Context of the course: the broader leisure economy, guest economy or visitor economy – notions used in The Netherlands as well as internationally to refer to the industry cluster of tourism, recreation, leisure and events – is a fast growing and a very dynamic economy. The government can be regarded as a major influence on the development of the leisure and tourism industry. It is able to steer and shape its development by means of laws, policies and planning strategies. However, the leisure economy is not the only field societies and governments have to deal with. There are many more interests, for instance regarding landscape, ecology, infrastructure, industries, agriculture, etc. As a result, the nature of leisure and tourism policy-making is complex. It is therefore essential for future decision makers in the leisure and tourism industry to develop a clear understanding of the theories and approaches from which leisure and tourism public policy and planning can be developed; the forces which shape leisure and tourism policy, planning, and development; and the impact policy has on society and the political system.

Due to continuous urbanisation and the increasing impacts of climate change, flood risks in delta areas are increasing, and, as a consequence, water management is high on the international political and societal agenda. Worldwide, the need is recognized to develop strategies and measures to adapt land use to the already occurring effects of climate change, and to develop integrated and adaptive approaches for dealing with water issues in low-lying urban deltas. The development and implementation of these integrated and adaptive approaches is however not an easy task, as they often involve a substantive and/or governance transition in water management.Drawing on a theoretical exploration of the nature of water transitions (including the notions of flood resilience and adaptability), and the way in which transitions can be managed, the course focuses on identifying current transitions in water management in relation to climate change, and on discussing issues and dilemmas in the attempts to manage these water transitions in establishing resilient delta areas. Through a group assignment, students will develop the capacity to suggest practical strategies and possibilities for water transition management for specific planning situations.